Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Stories about students: How does education policy affect the way students learn and grow? Can schools meet their needs as they balance ramped-up testing with personal changes and busy schedules? And are students who need help getting it?

Stories about educators: How are those responsible for implementing education policy in schools − from classroom teachers, to district administrators, to school board members − affected by changes at the top? And how well do they meet their challenge of reaching students with varying abilities and needs?

Stories about school assessment: With an increased push for 'accountability' in schools, what can test scores tell us about teacher effectiveness and student learning − and what can't they tell us? What does the data say about how schools at all levels are performing?

Stories about government influence: Who are the people and groups most instrumental in crafting education policy? What are their priorities and agendas? And how do they work together when they disagree?

Stories about money: How do local, state, and federal governments pay to support the education policies they craft? How do direct costs of going to school − from textbooks to tuition − hit a parent or student's bottom line? And how do changing budgets and funding formulas affect learning and teaching?

What sets Rocketship apart from other successful charters is a financial model that allows it to operate on government payments without continual infusions of cash from private donors. Many successful charter schools require additional funds to cover the costs of a longer school day, intensive tutoring and other expenses.

But after initial start-up costs, Rocketship schools are largely self-sufficient because they use technology to re-engineer the classroom.

For two hours each day, students are taught by computers designed to meet children at their particular level and drill them in rote skills like addition or subtraction. They spend the rest of the day in more typical classrooms with teachers, tackling more complex work like critical thinking.

Computers shave 25 percent from Rocketship’s labor costs — savings used to extend the school day to eight hours, pay higher salaries to its nonunion teachers and to construct its own school facilities, among other things. One Rocketship school is a replica of the next — everything is identical, down to the paint scheme: forest green and beige with purple accents.

But teachers and principals say there’s a problem with Rocketship’s current model: It isn’t really working. Teachers generally tweak lessons based on how well students are mastering concepts. That’s hard to do when instruction happens in learning lab. And not every kid engages with the computers.

One principal told PBS big changes were coming to Rocketship’s model, predicting next year the computers will come out of the learning lab and go back into classes. But he’s confident that the schools will hit on a model that works.

For years the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office and Ball State University handled the majority of charter school applications in the state. That changed when the legislature increased the number of eligible authorizers in 2011 and created the ICSB. It’s been incubated in the Department of Education but this month breaks off as an independent chartering organization.

The ICSB has already approved 14 schools, three of which are already open. Another 10 schools will open in August, plus Rocketship’s Indianapolis school in 2015.